Posts Tagged: testing

From all the parts which make up a personal computer, the power supply is perhaps the most difficult to properly test and review. That is because, once installed inside a system, there is no way to control and regulate the actual load of the power supply, even if proper measuring and monitoring equipment is available. Therefore, no proper testing of a power supply can be performed at all without a fully adjustable, stable load. For basic testing, most technicians are using power resistors in order to simulate a simple and (almost) steady load. Larger companies and specialists often use Automated Testing Equipment (ATE) systems, usually from Chroma or Sunmoon, which essentially are electronic loads that can run automated test patterns. Read More

This article will serve as a reference for those who would like to compare results with our reviews, whether you are writing an article for the site or just testing the performance of your new GPU. The plan is to keep this article updated as changes in our testing procedures occur. On to the gritty details… Read More

With the launch of Ivy Bridge, we’ve decided to migrate our video card testbed to the new platform, primarily because of its PCIe 3.0 specification. Along with the move, we’ve updated our test suite as well to make it more relevant to our readers that always like the latest and greatest titles. HAWX 2 and STALKER unfortunately just won’t cut it any longer. Read More

Let’s say you really want to overclock your CPU, and you want to cool it with air. You know that the Noctua NH-D14 is a very good heatsink, designed for quiet cooling; but you want more. Can you get better cooling from a D14? Let’s find out. Read More

The Megahalems comes with no fans of its own. You can choose your own fans, but what fans do you get? How well do they cool your system? How loud are they? When I decided I wanted to cool a 4GHz Core i7 860 with a Megahalems, I figured I would test a few fans and see how well they did. Needless to say, I sort of got carried away. I tested 65 fans in many configurations. Read all about it. Read More